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As promised, here’s part II of my KIMYE series with my favorite human Bakari. For this set, we went a bit more rustic and endured the woods of Columbia, South Carolina for a bootylicious shoot (I hope). I wore a Topshop skirt and bra, Zara bag and some Jessica Simpson shoes to get my inner Kim flowing.

So, my wonderful friend Bakari and I had the fabulous idea of doing a Kim and Kanye inspired shoot. Oh- but we didn’t stop there. We had three outfit changes in three seperate locations, all of which weree very, very Kimye. I paired my Reformation bodysuit with my favorite Jeffrey Campbells and my favorite Topshop jeans for our first look. I’ll be posting the next couple looks over the next few days.

There’s a stigma on feelings. It’s quiet funny actually, how we think we should just turn certain ones off if they’re not fitting for an occasion. We don’t necessarily have control over a situation but we absolutely have control over which colored lens we choose to view it in. As someone who is an inherently positive person, I tend to view the world in a sunshine colored filter. Things happen, people happen, but nine times out of ten I choose to be happy. But sometimes, especially at night, I get sad. Sometimes it’s because of something someone did, sometimes it’s because I remember something that hurt, sometimes it’s because I’m human and sometimes our walls crumble without our permission. Sometimes it’s even just weltschmerz- “world sadness”, one that happens because there’s this realization that the world deviates from our ideal expectations. The thing is, it doesn’t matter- it just happens. If you’re anything like me this leads to a train of thoughts, one that can veer off tracks pretty quickly if you don’t pull the breaks really fast. I think of why I’m sad, I reason, I use logic, I write, I wonder why I feel sad when I know I don’t have a reason to, and then I get angry at myself because I feel sad, and then I start to feel dumb for feeling sad. Funny, right? Here’s the thing though- It is. It is 100% okay to feel sad sometimes. One of my favorite yoga classes revolved around the theme of tastes, of palettes. We need sour and tart and bitter to know what sweet tastes like. We need a whole variety of flavors to live a beautiful, rich and full life. And you know what? That means our hearts are bound to hurt, we’re bound to be broken and we’re sure to feel sad. You know what else that means? That means you’ve got to stitch yourself up, grab your favorite shoes and kick down some new doors. Being okay with feeling is not weakness. Sadness is not weakness. Choosing to feel is not weakness. Choosing to embrace life, even when it’s damn hard, takes strength, Sitting with your sadness to learn from it takes strength. Sometimes we need a reminder that it’s okay to feel sad sometimes. Well, this is it.

I went to sleep last night and woke up in the 10th circle of Hell. It is so hot in Columbia. Fear not kind Samaritans, and dear readers, I have not strayed from my path, I have been wearing all black throughout the dampening heat. If there’s one thing that Father Sun has given me lately (besides a horribly awkward tan on my left arm from driving with the window down) it’s autumn lust. I want the cool breeze and October nights, I want to watch American Horror Story after work and I want to the fair. I want leather! I want faux fur! I want beanies and I want it now! Well, instead of throwing a temper tantrum I hit the runways (through the cyberweb) and made some collages.. So without further adieu,here are my top five AW15 RTW collections for major, major outfit lust.

Givenchy Just going to take a second and acknowledge the fact that Tisci’s inspiration for Fall/Winter was “Victorian Chola”…as if he couldn’t have us any more hooked. Curls adorned models faces as did a plethora of piercings. This collection in one word? Strong. Even when a delicate cream dress with carefully constructed florets and an oversize fur stole came down the runway, there was an element of sweetness, but it never lost its strength. Sheer pieces were contrasted by plenty of velvet, leather and high necklines creating a modern day renaissance in the form of new age sexiness. This collection is all diamonds.

Thom BrowneThom Browne is all about dramatic flair, and he did not disappoint this past season. There were male angels, a grim reaper and plenty of (you guessed it!) – black. What Browne did so well, and notably, was create garments that could very easily be considered “mourning attire” and erased the stigma behind them. So you look like you may be going to a funeral? Who cares. Going along wit the theme of Victorian inspiration, Browne sent down look after look of elegant macabre sensibilities. Each look was eerie and tailored to perfection and finished off with a really great headpiece. A+ Thom.

Alexander McQueenThe house of the unusual, and the reigning Queen, Sarah Burton, had an incredible season. Delicate lace dresses featured sculputral details and towering necklines, billowing sheer ballgowns were plastered with roses and leather was used in plenty. Leave it to the house of McQueen to create an airplane dress with a plunging neckline in oxblood colored leather… and to add the perfect lace collar as a detail. This collection was once again, obviously Victorian in its inspiration, but it was done in sultry and daring MQueen fashion. This collection makes you feel memories you know don’t existed; it transports you to somewhere you once knew but can no longer remember. Bravo.

Ann Demeulemeester Although Ann may not be running the house anymore, the house is still running, and running fast. Fall did not leave one disappointed, thanks to the like of meticulously draped dresses with Obi leather belts, sheer peakaboo paneling and lots and lots of sexy leather accents. The house of Demeulemeester is an erotic, enticing one; it is unapologetic in its raw strength. And although the catwalks have been littered with neo-goth inspiration, it clearly didn’t phase Sébastien Meunier, who kept his wit and kept designing pieces any Demeulemeester fan can get behind. That is not something to complain about.

Simone RochaSimone Rocha has been my life inspiration for the past month or so when I remembered how incredible she is and made this collage. Sweet, romantic, Victorian blooms! Black frills and lace and sheer skirts! This is the sort of collection I want to buy, grow old in and get buried in. Rocha has an innate sense of the female figure, thanks to her understanding of how to create silhouettes, and she loves to show it off. Free the nipple? Rocha’s got your back. Wonderfully sheer dresses were covered with roses and blooms in red and white, black velvet was crafted into blouse size florets… There was plenty at bloom here.

It’s almost one hundred degrees in the hot, humid South and I’m itching for cooler days. Fall nights ruled by skintight leather, cheetah print coats and heels that allow no room for error, whatsoever. As the nights get longer and fall looms closer, I’m left longing for the pieces in my closet that make me feel a little rough, a little edgy and a whole lot of exposed. My current inspiration? The much loved, much hated rock star that is Hedi Slimane. All the naysayers, all the haters, all those who doubt his work for the legendary house of Saint Laurent best not doubt one thing; he’s going big. Regardless of where you stand on the debate of Slimane and his vision for the brand, you cannot deny his magnetic, edgy appeal and his ability to bring Saint Laurent to a new, trendier, and younger consumer. For Saint Laurent’s Fall Winter 2015 collection, there was an overarching motif of bad. In classic Slimane style, however, bad was done so, so well. Although pieces like a nipple exposing asymmetrical dress with perfectly tailored rouching , skintight slashed leather pants and ripped tights all led ones eye to believe that Slimane doesn’t do “clean”, a closer look leads one to believe otherwise. A Tin Man style trench coat in a matte metallic gray, princess style dresses with tulle galore in a variety of metallic 80’s fabrics and plethora of perfectly crafted leather jackets all prove Slimane knows exactly what he’s doing; and he’s doing it well. In a world where fashion is clean, feminine and sweet, there lies Slimane. Slimane is the hair metal in a world of grunge. He is the alternative in a world of clean cut. Although Hedi Slimane’s vision most likely deviates from that which Yves held, there is a time and a place for change… and it is now.

As someone who identifies with the darker side of fashion, that which bites and scratches and leaves one wondering “what’s next”, I admire Slimane. Beyond what any other fashion critic says, beyond the fact that someone out there will retort that you can get that same outfit at Forever 21- Slimane has taken a risk and redefined one of the most iconic houses in fashion history; and he’s managed to hold the spotlight as he’s done so. Yes, it’s not classic. No, it’s not necessarily “chic”. You know what it is? Rebellious and strong. Slimane’s vision for the house is sharp and it is young. Fashion has to be redefined by the youth and if now’s not the time to do so, when is? You go Slimane.

Throw it back to the summer of ’06. I was 12, going into the 7th grade and I was at a JCC summer camp where each day we went and did a different nifty thing in Atlanta. This particular day I don’t know where we went, maybe Dahlonega, but I do remember this; a really sweet comic bookstore and leaving it with three vintage Sabrina The Teenage Witch comics from the 70’s. Score. So I was on the bus, riding back to the JCC, doing my thing and reading my sick comics. There was one section I still remember; letters readers wrote to Sabrina, this time about what they thought the year 2000 would be like. According to these wise flower children, by the time the new millennium rolled around we would be living on the moon and life would be totally Zenon (even if they didn’t know it yet).Okay well news flash to these poor souls. It’s 2015, we don’t live on the moon and according to the government and the mass population, aliens don’t even exists (they do). What?! It’s 2015 and you can freeze a body but we haven’t contacted aliens? I don’t understand. I’m very clearly upset by this, obviously, and I realized something the other day that inspired this post. We have no clue (zip, zilch) about what aliens would be like or look like, We really don’t. But- we can imagine, hence the Roswell New Mexico style green guy- and we can also find some aesthetic inspiration from the cosmos.

I remembered my comics the other day, and started thinking about how far we are from what those children thought the year 2000 would be like. Well, we may not have aliens, but we so totally can and should dress the way they imagined we would. In 50 years, the fashion history text books are going to be writing about what the youngins in the second decade of the 21st century wore. They may very well be talking about how the 90’s and 80’s came back, or about what people wear to raves or Coachella. But you know what they should be talking about? Space Goth. Yes, Space Goth. Or any sort of space or alien inspired aesthetic. Why? Because aliens still haven’t come down to hang with us Twilight Zone style, or maybe they have, and that’s sad. So, we should be inspired by our alien friends and dress like what we think they would dress like.

If the fashion history textbooks and historians and all those humans are going to be writing about what we’re wearing, we may as well give them something to write about. In the age of technology, where we know so much, there’s still so much left to wonder about. We’re the Aquarius children anyway, why don’t we find inspiration from the unknown, from life beyond our solar system or even life beyond death?

Preface- Witchcraft and Wicca are not evil and their practitioners don’t worship Satan. Wicca is a nature based religion that honors the male and female aspects of divinity through the changing of the seasons, known as the Wheel of the Year. The Wiccan Rede, aka as close as Wiccans have to any book or bible or whatnot states the intention of the religion very simply; do what ye will, an ye harm none. Aka – do what you will as long as you harm none in the process. Witchcraft is a little bit harder to define since there’s such a variety of practices. For me, Witchcraft means that I use magick and energy work to solidify a specific intention, again, not in a Satanic or evil way.

This is about my experience with my relationship to witchcraft. I am both Wiccan and a Witch, so naturally, this story on why I chose The Craft is tangled up in both aspects.

I am the daughter of a Rabbi, and the granddaughter of holocaust survivors and I am Jewish by blood. Culturally, I am Jewish; my dad was born in Israel, my mother grew up in the Jewish community in Mexico City. I will always be proud of my heritage, of the people I come from because they are some of the strongest in the world. But I am Wiccan and I am a Witch.

I chose Witchcraft.

I chose witchcraft, intentionally, at the age of 12, right before I was sent of to a month long sleep away Jewish summer camp. I chose Witchcraft when I read “A Witches Guide to Faery Folk” when I was 11 and had flashbacks to standing in front of a wax statue talking to me about Wicca in Salem, five years before. I’ve talked about my history with The Craft here, and I want to talk about where I am now; over 10 years later, and still calling myself a Witch.

I choose Witchcraft because it feels like home. I don’t know how else to describe it. For me, Witchcraft is a relationship I have with myself, with the universe, with the God and Goddess, with nature, with seasons and with energy. Witchcraft, for me, is when I read tarot, when I listen to phases of the moon and perform spells and magick and rituals that follow her and her ebb and flow. Witchcraft for me is honoring my spirit guides, it’s when I feel how things are changing, it’s when I honor the solstices and the equinoxes. Witchcraft for me is using the never ending energy of the universe to help me create, manifest and understand this life.

I think there’s something about balance that really makes me love this path, specifically with Wicca. There’s a feminine as much as a masculine, and with my own eclectic path there is a darkness as much as their is a light. I am in no way saying ~white or black magick~ because that’s a pet peeve of mine. Energy is energy; it is neither good nor bad, and it is our judgment that colors it. I believe in positive and negative, but again, that’s how we shape our energy, how we chose to cultivate it.

I am inspired by my darkness. I am inspired by the darkness of others. I am inspired by the fact that there is so, so, so much more than we understand in this life. Witchcraft for me is learning about my Aquarius Sun, Scorpio Moon, Libra Rising soul and understanding about others astrological charts. Wicca for me is my relationship to the God and Goddess inside myself, to the Earth, to the seasons. Witchcraft for me is about the wheel of the year, it’s about how I navigate this life.

I am inspired by the ancient Celts, by European Hedge Witches who have had witchcraft in their families for years. I am inspired by herb folklore and by spirits. I am inspired by death, by ghosts and phantoms and the unknown. This exploration, for me, this attempt to understand, is why I continue to choose witchcraft. Magick for me, is setting an intention and creating a way for it to manifest. It’s manipulated energy. Witchcraft, for me, follows this same path and idea. Witchcraft is using the tools you’re given to create, to change, to heal, to grow. Medicine Woman, Shamans, Witches.. they all have this innate understanding. There’s this recognition that this Earth is filled with secrets, and if we listen we can understand them

I chose, and I continue to choose, Witchcraft because for me it means being a good person, understanding karma, using what I have to make a change and knowing this life isn’t it. Witchcraft for me, is the way I love others and myself. It is how I live this life. Witchcraft is the fact I feel powerful in all black, the fact that I can wear my darkness while innately being a light soul. Witchcraft is my love of divination, of ghosts, of spell work, of the occult.

There are cards that are easy to interpret and there are ones that are a bit trickier. Temperance is one of those cards that tends to stump me when it comes up in a reading. The tarot resonates in funny ways and I’m sure this is a hard card for me because it’s what I have trouble internalizing most; balance. The universe always has perfect timing, and Mercury was retrograde as I shot this look (thankfully it’s direct again!) This past retrograde was all about digging up the past, learning from the muck and moving forward… it was rough. Sometimes you have to go on and move forward and keep going with life; find your footing and balance between harsh elements. That’s exactly what this card teaches us.Temperance speaks of working with opposing elements and using them to find balance. Battle water with fire, earth with air. Temperance is a card of renewal, a flowing stream promising something better, something easier. I was so excited to shoot with my favorite, Mary Decrescenzio, after what feels like years of not working together. Although lots of rain made the waterfalls we shot at murky, it still felt perfect to shoot among the flowing water; it’s exactly what Temperance represents. This card talks about moderation, about working among the elements and not giving or taking too much. Temperance is a card of healing, of renewal. It is, more than anything, a little glimmer of hope.Temperance urges us to find a sense of honesty, of balance and a sense of purity with what we do. Not too hot, not too cold…just right. It speaks of being like the heron and find your balance and find peace in a sense of opposition. I wanted to interpret this card surrounded by water, with pieces in sweet blue and just a touch of red (lipstick always counts). I picked up this wonderful vintage teddy from my job, Hip Wa Zee, and paired it with this sweet little robe I got from my friend Ivory who runs an incredibly curated vintage shop called Forgotten Feather Vintage. I was feeling very “Secret Garden” since we took so many photos amidst the incredible foliage. All you can do in life is take little baby steps every day. Learning from the past to move forward. Learning from the fire so you know to add a little more water next time. Temperance reminds us to find our own secret garden, our own place of peace. A safe haven to remind us that once we find balance, everything else will fall into place. Here’s to a fresh start and learning from the ease of the water.

Okay folks, I haven’t blogged in an ungodly amount of time and I know I was suppose to make announcements about why weeks ago.. well Mercury is retrograde and I am the worst, so after weeks of leaving you all shivering with antici….pation here it goes. I just finished up interning with Rick Owens at his showroom for Market Week for two weeks! I was in New York and let me tell you, that is a city you fall in love with. I had an amazing time and met some of the most hardworking and wonderful people and it truly surpassed any and all of my expectations. I have a ton of pictures from my trip which WILL be turned into a blog post, I promise. BUT today’s blog post is featuring a brand that The Numinous founder Ruby Warrington turned me onto; Reformation. Okay so besides the fact that Reformation makes sexy clothes that are swoon worthy all on their own, the story behind the brand is what makes it so totally Numinous (for lack of a better word). The brand was created by Yael Aflalo in 2009, and is leading the way in sustainable fashion. Every single piece is produced and manufactured in downtown Los Angeles and each collection is limited edition, how can you not swoon?! Garments are made with recycled and sustainable fibers, hangers in the store are recycled, orders are shipped in 100% recycled packaging; this is what the future of “fast fashion” needs. Reformation tracks exactly how big of a carbon footprint each garment creates, and they take note; the idea of being better isn’t enugh; transformation and being the best is. I couldn’t say no this bodysuit, especially knowing that it was a guilt free buy, so thanks Reformation. I’ve officially joined the cause. If you want to learn more about Reformation and how they’re changing the game, check it out HERE.

Well friends, it’s happened. I’ve been back and forth to and from Columbia the past two weeks and my twin sister Alexandra and I finally shot together..after months and months, FINALLY some new outfit photos. Beyond that wonderful thing, it’s beautiful outside, it was May Day a couple days ago, it’s the full moon AND the full moon is in Scorpio, which just so happens to be my moon sign! Life is extra good right now, and I have some exciting things which I’ll announce in my next post!I’ve loved having papa sun kiss my skin. I love the gray skies but once the spring months roll around I crave nothing more than some iced coffee, lots of trees and some flesh exposing outfits. I’ve been really inspired by the notion of dressing in what makes me feel powerful and beautiful and all that jazz (which is nothing new), but for the first time I’ve figured out how to articulate what exactly it is that makes me feel beautiful.

I’m proud of who I am. I love who I am and I do believe I have a beautiful inside. But when I’m in my pajamas, with no makeup, I don’t really feel beautiful on the outside (which isn’t to say my spirit n soul don’t feel bright and pretty). But I have a young face and I just don’t feel as beautiful on the outside as I do on the inside when I’m au naturale… I feel guilty about that because I’m all about self love, but I realized recently what it is for me that makes wearing my makeup and a great outfit such a spiritual experience.

When I get dressed up in an outfit like the one I’m wearing in this post, and I’ve got some lipstick on that makes me feel like a power woman, then I feel beautiful. It’s not the makeup, it’s not the clothing, it’s the fact that when I’m wearing something I love, I feel like for the first time how I feel on the inside is represented by the outside… it’s the duality and the synchronicity that make me feel whole. I feel like the best version of myself, I feel like I’m who I’m meant to be, and that’s what makes me feel beautiful. I feel like there’s an equilibrium between how I feel I look on the inside that’s represented on the outside, and you know, that’s a pretty great thing to be able to articulate! So here’s to my incredible twin sister, papa sun and an outfit and some photos that make me feel like a bombshell.Shorts: H&M// Top and Shoes: Urban Outfitters// Bag: Dolls Kill// Hat: Vintage// Glasses: Nasty Gal Wear what makes you feel beautiful.